The world controlled by dice [Western Fantasy]

"So what is this?" Qin Duo asked with great interest.

Siles stared at the pile of things in the pot, and after a moment of silence: "Scrambled eggs with tomato?"

"Hmm... How many eggs did you put in? Why does this look more like..." Qin Duo pondered for a moment and said, "Tomato egg pancake?"

Siles fell into silence, and slowly moved his gaze to the trash can.

In the afternoon, he came to 32 Lowell Street, intending to make a tomato scrambled eggs.After he bought the flour, he regretted it—the novelist from the earth only ate the dumplings made by his mother, and only the quick-frozen dumplings in the refrigerator.

If there is a dumpling wrapper, it's okay to say... flour?

He wisely donated the flour he bought in the market to the charity corner on the street.

Of course, he thinks he can still try tomato scrambled eggs.Even if it is boiled into tomato and egg soup, there is no problem, but...

He thought, add more water to the noodles, add more noodles, scrambled eggs with tomatoes and scrambled tomatoes.

Tomato Egg Pancakes.Siles said the word silently, and then thought, Cendo, you are such an honest man.

He couldn't help sighing, put down the spatula, turned off the fire, and turned to look at Qindo.Gindo's emerald green eyes were full of smiles—a daring devotee who laughed at his god's poor cooking skills while he was cooking.

"So, don't you want to eat, Gyndo?" Sirius asked.

"Of course... want to eat." Qin Duo took a step forward and said very honestly, "After all, you did it."

"Then, you eat what I make, and I eat what you make," said Siles. "Tomato omelet. You name it, and you eat it."

Qin Duo shrugged his shoulders: "Listen to you. But..." He suddenly approached Siles, and amidst the aroma of tomato egg pancakes, softly said in Siles' ear, "I eat yours?"

Siles: "..."

He didn't even understand what Qin Duo was talking about for the first time.

After he reacted, Qin Duo had already copied the "Tomato Egg Pancake" as if nothing had happened, put it on a plate, and said, "Okay, okay, I should make something you like."

Siles looked at the excess eggs, and after a moment of silence, he suddenly said, "Qindo, today Professor Brett recommended me a residential area for reference."

Cinder said: "I see. Maybe we can move there in a few months." He looked at Siles suddenly, and said with a little complacency, "It seems that you and I are almost in a hurry."

Sirius froze for a moment, then laughed.

He thought, not in such a hurry.It's always fascinating to come and go in love, and he can't escape it.However, when he realized that Qin Duo was in such a hurry, he felt soft-hearted instead.

Qin Duo is like a small animal that is entangled with people, trying hard to grab his trousers to climb up, and pats him lightly from time to time.How could he calmly and actively hug this little animal?

Siles stayed with Cindo all afternoon.

He mentioned to Qindo about the spring break scholar visit, but he didn't hold out much hope for it.

"However, Middleton is indeed a very mysterious country." Siles said, "They still believe in Amoys to this day. Is it possible to keep some relevant archives?"

"Maybe there will be." Qin Duo said, but he also reminded, "There are enough materials you need to read now."

Siles was taken aback and couldn't help but sighed.

Yes, it is true.

The legacy of Professor Calverley alone is countless, not to mention the materials of the Praia family, some academic reference books, reference books for apprentices and other students, and so on.

These readings had filled Siles' life, and he was still dreaming of other books.

He resolutely let it go.

"Besides, if there are no accidents, a new batch of Praia family files will arrive tomorrow." Qin Duo said, "Many of them are in Kansas script, and I may need to translate them for you. "

"That would be great." Siles couldn't help saying, "I also got some written materials from Kansas before, and I had to turn to an international student from Kansas for help. It's much more convenient to have you now, Qindo."

Qin Duo shrugged, leaned in front of him and kissed him, and then said slyly: "I'm glad I can do something for you, I hope this will make you like me more and be more attached to me."

Siles couldn't help but startled, then smiled slightly.

This is Cindo.Cendo always does.He ostentatiously showed himself in front of Siles, hoping to gain Siles' favor.

However, he already got it.

On Monday night, Siles returned to 6 Hayward Street, lit the stove, and gradually "thawed" himself beside the warm flames.Afterwards, he went to the bathroom to wash and wash his clothes.He was a little worried that the clothes would not dry.

Maybe bake it in the stove.He thought so, but cautiously felt that it might set his clothes on fire.

…He should ask friends he knows about the ways of the world, instead of sticking to the rules with his own concept of the earth.But when he thought this way, he also realized that he was gradually integrating into Fisher's world.

The color of the soul.he thinks.He is inevitably stained, depicted, and covered by the colors of this world.Perhaps sooner or later, when asked about his hometown, he would unhesitatingly say Fisher's World instead of...his Earth.

His unreachable earth.

This thought brought him a trace of sadness and helplessness in the cold winter.

But he thought again, after all, he already knew a lot.How much time has passed?He shouldn't be in such a hurry.

Thinking of this, Siles gradually calmed down, and once again suppressed those emotions that suddenly overflowed gently but resolutely.How much he expected Qin Duo to be by his side at this time.

It was a pity that it was 6 Hayward Street, not 32 Lowell Street, which he had grown accustomed to lately.

Thinking so wildly, time passed bit by bit.At eight o'clock in the evening, Siles sat down at the desk and carefully spread out a book on the desk.

"The Life of a Man Named Conan Freemont".He intends to read volume seven this evening.

He has finished reading the previous volumes, which gave him a deeper understanding of Conan Fremont.

Conan Fremont, who was born in a wealthy family, is a follower of Thaddeus, the god of death and disaster.

Judging from his autobiography, Fremont was quite arrogant and dissolute when he was young. Because of his good family background and early belief in Thaddeus, he treated "living people" with a kind of arrogant disdain Boy, think death is the coolest thing.

But life is the best way to polish people.

When he was about 30 years old, there was an accident at home in Fremont, and he went bankrupt overnight.As the only son, he had to shoulder the responsibilities related to the family property.

When he finally paid off his debts, married a wife and had children, and got a relatively happy life, when he could face death with a very calm attitude, Thaddeus suddenly fell.

The blow at that moment was very strong and bleak for him.

Before the fall of Thaddeus, the ultimate goal of Fremont's life was to face aging and death with a more complete attitude.It was like atonement for his youthful recklessness.

However, when he was really about to grow old and was about to take a deep breath to let the icy chill of death sink into his soul, Thaddeus died—how should I put it, death left him behind?

"The Life of a Man Named Conan Freemont".Not counting the preface, the book consists of twelve volumes.

Volumes [-] to [-] are about Fremont when he was young.

The fourth volume to the sixth volume tell the story of him being forced to take on the important responsibilities of the family and growing from a teenager to a man.

Volume 11 to Volume No. [-], five long volumes, talk about Fremont gradually changing from a believer to literary creation after the fall of Thaddeus, and some things before his death.

Prior to this, the whereabouts of these five volumes remained unknown, hidden in the mysterious fog of history.For many people, this is a huge regret.

As for the final No.12 volume, it is a volume summary, which generally recounts Conan Fremont's life, as well as some people and things that have had a great influence on him.

However, I don’t know if it was Fremont’s own idea, or it was screened by later generations in the process of rearranging and compiling. In short, in this volume, Fremont’s "believer" status has been greatly weakened .

As if he was an ordinary man living in the silent period.From birth, to growth, to aging, to death, it seemed that the fall of the gods did not have much impact on his life.

But in fact, for a while, Fremont was so close to Thaddeus.

"...

"I sometimes feel that my God is a god who is very close to believers. He doesn't like to be too far away from people, because death is very close to people.

"Of course, I am very clear that no one can know this. When I was young, when my god was still there, I didn't dare to let people know my thoughts; now I don't need to hide it.

"Anyway, no one will trouble me. After all, I know all the believers of my god. I know several substitutes. They are all like ordinary people, living by our side, only when they die, they will be with us. We part.

"Death. Death.

"I often think, what kind of thing would death be... an experience? Perhaps this word should be used to describe it. For a while, I wanted to die, but I almost died and couldn't lie in the arms of my God. A little later, I gritted my teeth to keep myself from dying.

"In the future, for example, now, I can't let myself die easily, because I have lived for so long, and I always feel that I am not willing to die like this. Besides, I will never have that chance to go to the Mojache Hills again. .

"I have indeed heard that some believers of my god are looking for the hills. Like other believers of the fallen gods. They all want to find the 'Paradise', and think there may be some information and clues related to the fall of the gods.

"I don't quite agree with them. Probably because I once cast a distant glance at the Mojacher Hills. I've always wondered, even if the gods fall, why should death bother that piece of Paradise?

"...

"I heard a piece of news today, and I added it to the composition. Of course, I made some whitewash for this matter.

"In short, I heard that a devout believer passed away today. His family quarreled with others because they didn't know where to go for the funeral. Usually it was in the church of the god he believed in, but when the god fell, the church Naturally, no one was there.

"So this corpse has been kept at home, and now the weather is very hot, and the neighbors smelled the stench, so they quarreled with his family and asked them to bury it as soon as possible. But - burial? Where will it be buried?

"This world after the fall of the gods is full of helpless and miserable cries, but no gods will respond to these words. This world responds to everything with silence. This is the Silent Era."

Silence Ji.Siles was slightly taken aback.

In a way, he thought, that was indeed a way of explaining the name of the era.

The reason why these eras are named like this is that they are often led by the gods and their believers. After all, there are gods in this world, and the gods once held the greatest right to speak.

The Birth of the Gods, the Faith, and the Empire.With the gradual development and growth of human civilization, the believers of the gods have also mastered some rights.They can offer advice to the gods.It is in this context that the Imperial Age is named.

Human historians believe that the main stage of that era no longer belongs to the gods, but to the human empire.Of course, under the concept of that era, it also belonged to the kingdom of gods.The balance tilted unconsciously.

The Age of Shadows, the Age of Silence, and the Age of Fog.It seems that a sudden disaster has hit the world, and the originally thriving world has turned around.Shadows, silence, fog, the true nature of the world is covered by a thick veil.

As far as Siles knows, the names of the Age of Shadow and the Age of Silence were decided almost at the same time, that is, in the year when the god of wine and pleasure, Elkoo, fell.

Most of the gods seem to have made this decision jointly - the past 1000 years will be called "Shadow", and the future years will be called "Silence".Ordinary people accepted the title of this era naturally.

It's not that nobody has wondered about the weirdness of these two names.Even though the gods have fallen one after another, why is this era called "Silence"?Obviously no one knows what happened in the Shadow Era, but why is that Era called "Shadow"?

The name seemed to hide some secret.However, a name is just a name after all.No one got to the bottom of it, and no one really got the answer in those turbulent days.

Therefore, the Shadow Period is the Shadow Period, and the Silence Period is the Silence Period.

As for the period in the fog, people gradually called it that after the appearance of Anti-Nam.Because the world is indeed in a fog; and the church in the past also acquiesced in this title, so this title gradually became the official usage.

Now, people also hold funerals in the church of the past, and bury their loved ones under the arrangement of the church of the past.In any case, the days of not knowing where to go for a funeral are gone forever.

Another aspect of this passage that caught Siles' attention was Fremont's attitude towards "God's Paradise".

He didn't seem to think that the secret of the fall of the old gods was hidden in the paradise of the gods.

It wasn't impossible, but Freemont's take-for-granted attitude made Siles a little strange.Why is Fremont so sure of this?Because of……

Is it because, even if the old gods fall, the power of the old gods still exists?So, the paradise of the old gods can still be maintained?

Thinking of the deep sea dreamland and the mysterious farm, Sirius had to admit that it was very possible.The Paradise of God seems to be a relatively independent existence. Even though the "God" is no longer there, the "Paradise" still exists.

He pondered the concept quietly, then woke up with a start, realized that it was getting late, closed his book, took off his glasses, put out the stove, and went to sleep.

Akamala's power has always protected him, allowing him to enjoy a pleasant sleep.

The next morning, when Siles stepped into the elective class, he glanced at the students habitually, and then suddenly felt something was wrong—one person missing?

Angela Clayton helped deliver Annette Melvin's leave note.

Annette Melvin was the top achiever and hardest working student in her class.She was one of the few students who read Sirius's paper on Conan Fremont.

With her hard work and diligence, Siles didn't think she would ask for leave without reason.

Siles frowned involuntarily and asked, "What's wrong with her?"

Angela shook her head: "Just say it's a family matter."

The classroom was very quiet, and the students were all waiting for Siles to deal with the matter.

Siles nodded, put the leave slip into his file bag, and said, "I see. We can continue with the class."

In the class, Siles mentioned the relevant knowledge of Conan Fremont.Professor Calverley helped him a lot by giving him the set, and even made him revise certain aspects of the lesson plans.

However, Siles didn't want to cause trouble, nor did he intend to reveal the fact that he owned the complete set of books.He just modified some inconspicuous flaws as much as possible, mainly because he didn't like such omissions.

In class, a student asked: "Professor, you mentioned that Fremont is a follower of Thaddeus. So, are there any other believers of the old gods who are engaged in literature like Fremont?"

Siles considered it for a while, and then replied: "Of course there is. From the beginning, literature has the difference between 'sacred texts' and 'secular texts'. Believers praise and sing praises to gods and their followers. common in literature.

"This kind of record is of course also a kind of literature. From the Birth of the Gods to the Middle of the Mist, this kind of sacred text has always existed, and people have always studied it deeply.

"The particularity of Fremont is that he experienced the stage of the fall of the old gods. From belief to shattering, his transformation, his life encounters, and his words are all endowed with the profound brilliance of the times."

The students nodded with a vague understanding.

Angela asked: "So, you mean... these texts are essentially related to the 'people' of that era?"

Siles pondered Angela's statement: "Words and times... that's true. Illusory stories are ultimately based on the real world."

Having said that, he was suddenly taken aback.

Unreal... and, real?

For a moment, he felt as if he had realized something.

But the students' questions quickly interrupted his train of thought.Siles didn't think about it any more, he just wrote down the question in his notebook.

After class, when the students were leaving one after another, Siles suddenly thought of something and stopped Angela Clayton and Millicent Austin.

He nodded to Millicent, and said, "Miss Austin, I hear you know a lot about plants?"

Millicent nodded in surprise.After the death of the Marquis of Austin, this timid and introverted girl, after the initial hesitation and despair, seemed to slowly walk out of the haze in her heart, and became more cheerful visibly.

Of course, Millicent still seemed a little nervous when she was stopped by the professor when the get out of class was over.

Siles then asked: "In that case, I would like to ask—" His wording seemed to make Millicent even more nervous, so Siles could not help but pause, "Isn't rose apart from 'love'? Are there other symbolic meanings?"

"Rose?" Millicent couldn't help but startled.

Angela also listened curiously, she muttered, "I only know that roses symbolize love."

Millicent thought for a moment, then said, "Rose... if I remember correctly, roses are also associated with human destiny. The eight-petalled rose signifies rebirth and renewal, and the seven-petalled rose signifies tolerance, understanding and order.

"Others believe that the rose symbolizes balance, promise, and new hope...well, there are others who believe that the rose symbolizes the divine goddess...and yes, in some ancient books, it is believed that roses make tea Can bring prophetic dreams."

"...a prophecy dream?" Sirius couldn't help but startled.

Angela said in surprise: "Millie, do you still remember? When we were looking for theories about marigolds, some people also said that marigolds can produce prophetic dreams."

Millicent nodded slightly, as if she was a bit restrained in front of the professor."That's right," she whispered. "However, plants have always had many symbolic meanings, and people interpret them differently."

"It's really interesting." Angela couldn't help sighing.

Siles said, "I see, thank you for your help, Miss Austin."

Millicent shook her head nervously: "No, you're welcome, Professor."

Afterwards, Angela and Millicent bid farewell to Sirius and left together.

After the students left, Siles would slowly breathe a sigh of relief—he thought, he seemed to know why roses appeared in that mysterious farm.For the rose is probably the symbol of Akamala, just as the crocus is the symbol of Pessonari.

And, both roses and marigolds have been associated with rumors of prophetic dreams?This also seems to imply the relationship between Akamala and Ruthmi to some extent.

In addition, some of the connections between the rose and Sirius himself also made him feel very delicate.

Are roses associated with destiny?He thought for a moment.

He wrote down these thoughts in his notebook, and unconsciously looked at the sentence next to the notebook that he just wrote down in class.

"Fantasy stories are ultimately based on the real world."

…He thought about what he was thinking just now, and he always felt as if he had experienced a spirituality or knowledge invisibly, and then got some "enlightenment".

Angus Keyes.he thought.The former explorer of Never Embers embarked on his own journey of revenge in the real world because of the illusory story of "The Revenge of the Rose".

Unreal, real, unreal.The fictional story drives what happens in the real world, and what happens in the real world, in turn, fits the fictional story.

This matter is very likely to fit the power of Akamala, and then allow Sirius to search the dream in the deep sea dream, and then discover the secret hidden in the deep sea dream.

Previously, Siles believed that this may be a "turning fiction into reality" in a sense.But now Siles feels that this matter is not that simple, the power of the gods cannot be mastered so easily.

He seems to have overlooked a more important step - making this process of "turning the virtual into reality" and then in turn matching the power of the gods.

...Turning reality into fiction?

"The Revenge of the Rose" promotes the actions of Angus Keyes, and the actions of Angus Keys are indeed in line with Ludwig's approach in "The Revenge of the Rose".This is a double arrow.

False stories are ultimately based on the real world.The power of the story depends on "truth".

Also... roses.When he chose the title of "The Revenge of the Rose", he just used the popular image of a rose to refer to the heroine in the book.However, he invisibly matched certain parts of Akamala's power.

This can also be said to be a coincidence.However, is it a coincidence?

He pondered for a long time in the classroom, and then he suddenly recovered and realized that he should leave.Cendo was waiting for him in the office, maybe correcting homework at the moment, and then idly waiting for Siles to come and have dinner with him.

Siles packed his things, but when he was going out, he was stopped again.

"...Professor Noel!" Professor Hurst appeared at the corner and stopped Siles.

Siles looked at him with some surprise. He didn't expect Dean Nolan Hurst to appear in the main castle of Ramifa University at this time.He said, "Good afternoon, Professor Hurst."

When greeting Professor Hearst, Siles thought of what Professor Bright said yesterday, and for a while had some guesses about what Hearst was about to say.

"Good afternoon," said Professor Hurst, "I didn't expect to meet you here. I read your paper, and it was..."

He considered his tone.

"Your discovery is very commendable," he said. "An old god, a group of followers of the old god. Although it may have been buried in the dust of history, you dug it up and wiped the dust. , displayed beautifully in front of everyone.

"That's a great cause, especially since you're still so young, have a great future, and have enough time to discover more secrets."

It can be seen that Professor Hearst admired Siles's essay on wandering poets very much, so he did not hesitate to praise him, and he was about to praise Siles as a top academic figure.

But Siles has this self-knowledge.He just chose a remote topic, and then luckily came across batch after batch of suitable materials.The appearance of Qin Duo was even more unexpected.

Siles was a little humble, but he didn't appear too humble.He has already understood some unspoken rules of this era. People should politely and calmly accept the praise of their achievements instead of resisting.

Professor Hurst talked to him for a few more words, and asked him where he was going next.

"I'm going to go to the office to find my teaching assistant," said Siles. "He should be grading homework. I have something to tell him."

Of course it's an excuse.Siles thought.

Perhaps Professor Hurst wanted to have a meal with him and chat slowly, but Siles didn't like to communicate with unfamiliar leaders at the dinner table.He would rather be here, in the deserted corridor of the castle, and listen to what Professor Hurst had to say.

So he specifically mentioned "teaching assistant".

"Oh..." Professor Hurst seemed a little surprised, then he hesitated, and said bluntly, "Professor Noel, I heard what Professor Mantel did to you. I communicated with him Just a moment, but he doesn't want to apologize to you.

"...I don't know what's wrong with him. I think his behavior is very inappropriate. I didn't know what he did before, but I have since. I hope you don't mind it too much.

"In any case, what Professor Mantel did this time is really too much. I will teach him the lesson he deserves. This is what the dean of the Academy of Arts and History should do.

"Besides...Professor Noel, do you remember the scholar visit during spring break?"

Siles was slightly taken aback.

Unexpectedly, what Professor Bright said really came true.He couldn't help thinking that.

He nodded and said cautiously: "I remember mentioning it at the end-of-term meeting last semester."

"That's the thing." Professor Hurst nodded, "Your academic thesis this year is very good, so I have submitted your name and it should pass. Professor Noel, you can prepare for the spring break trip gone."

Siles was a little surprised. He didn't expect Dean Hurst to move so quickly and had already made a decision. This time he just informed him.

He couldn't help asking: "But, Professor Hurst, where are you going?"

"Middleton. It's a somewhat distant country, but this location was decided at the school meeting and cannot be changed." Professor Hurst said, "Maybe we will bypass Galsworth in the Land of Ashes, because Take the train faster. Do you know Galsworth?"

Sirius nodded slowly.

"That's good." Professor Hurst said, "When everything is decided, you can get the travel notice. Professor Noel, I am very optimistic about your future."

"Thank you for your support." Siles said sincerely.

His gratitude was not false, but he had to admit that this visit by a scholar during the spring break seemed to have disrupted some of his plans—the most important thing is, is he unable to go home again this spring break?

It has been half a year since Siles came to this world, except for correspondence with the original mother and sending gifts, he has not been back yet.The longer this kind of thing dragged on, the more helpless he felt.

Even if he could really regard himself as Siles Noel, and he did gradually recognize this identity, but... mother?

That sounded too embarrassing.Siles thought so.

The novelist He Jiayin from Earth has her own father and mother.In addition, after staying in this different world for half a year, he didn't even get along with that mother in any way.So this embarrassment became more and more obvious.

If the original body's mother had been by his side when he first came to this world, then perhaps he could also be filial to her naturally.only……

Siles couldn't help feeling some headaches.

The matter of the spring break scholar visit has been finalized, and he has no intention of changing it.Soon, he bid farewell to Professor Hurst, and then returned to his office on the fourth floor.Sure enough, Qin Duo was sitting behind his desk, propped his chin, and stared at the door blankly.

When Siles came in, Cindo said, "Ah, Professor Noel, you are finally back. Your faithful assistant and lover thinks you are going to starve him to death."

Siles thought, like a domestic cat grunting and meowing, complaining to the poop officer that there is no food in the bowl.

...Evidently he has never raised a cat, but he can still find a suitable earth metaphor to describe Qin Duo.This is probably Qin Duo's problem.

He couldn't help laughing, and said, "I was stopped by Professor Hurst when get out of class was over, otherwise I could have come to you earlier."

"What did he want from you?"

"It's still the matter of Professor Mantel." Siles said, "The number of visiting scholars for the spring break has been confirmed."

Qin Duo asked with interest: "Is it really Middleton you guessed?"

Siles nodded and said, "Yes."

Qin Duo couldn't help but exclaimed, and then said: "You really seem to be the croupier of fate. Those cards are all under your control, and the traces of fate are as if they are held in your hands."

These words left a delicate emotion in Sirius' heart.

After a while, he replied, "However, I don't really like the feeling of... this kind of feeling."

"what?"

"Control your destiny." Siles walked to the window and looked at the scenery outside the window. There was light snow floating in the air and falling to the ground, as if everything had been purified.

A hint of confusion flickered in his eyes.

Qin Duo walked up to him, held his hand, and asked, "So what do you like?"

Siles closed his eyes, and finally said helplessly: "Maybe I don't know." He thought for a while and added, "It's just that I don't like the feeling of controlling other people's fate, life, death, and future. .That should probably be their own."

"I can understand what you mean." Qin Duo said, "However, you will not play with their fate maliciously. In this regard, if there is a so-called 'fate', then I would rather you hold it , not other people, or other gods."

So, is there really such a thing as "fate"?

Siles remained silent, and realized that maybe... really existed.

When he was thinking, there was a warm touch on his lips.Gyndo kissed him.He came back to his senses, looked at Qin Duo in confusion, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Qin Duo looked at him, and there was a playful but clear smile in the emerald green eyes, as if he knew that Sirius could not be vigilant at that time, and he did not want Sirius to be vigilant at that time. Be vigilant.

He just said: "Besides, don't you want to master me?"

Siles couldn't help being silent for a moment, and then he said, "So you want me to be like this, Gyndo?"

"Well... of course."

Siles smiled lowly and said, "I see."

"...What do you understand?" Qin Duo looked at him suspiciously.

"Pose," said Siles. "Okay, Cinder, it's time for us to eat. Aren't you hungry?"

Qin Duo: "..."

What pose?

Qin Duo was stunned for a moment, then quickly followed Siles' footsteps.He looked at Siles suspiciously, and was a little flustered by surprise.Finally, he said, "Well, I'm starving, Professor Noel."

It's as if the matter has been revealed so casually.But Siles knew that Qindo would definitely not be so quiet, and Qindo would definitely pick a time to ask Siles carefully what he meant.

Sure enough, when they finished their meal and planned to go back to 32 Lowell Street together—the materials from the Praia family had arrived, and Cilles was going to read there in the afternoon—Cindo spoke.

"So, have you been thinking about what to do at that time?" He asked, using words very carefully and euphemistically, as if Siles didn't understand what he meant, he would continue to follow the topic of Siles go on.

But Siles felt like a hunter waiting for a rabbit, and that stupid "stupid rabbit" really bumped into this tree stump.

He said, "Yes, Gyndo. I've been thinking about it. You know my character." He said, "I like to plan, and I like to have everything fall into place—including you."

"Oh...well, I mean..."